Class to hold leadership conference

Students from the Unconventional Leadership class will participate in the third annual leadership convention called “The Unconvention” on the upper school campus Saturday.

Students in the class will also have the opportunity to invite peers perceived as leaders to join attendees from other Los Angeles area high schools including Palisades Charter, Marlborough, Marymount, Oakwood, Windward and Archer.

The convention will feature student-led discussions, activities to build teamwork, and a presentation by Brandon Beck, CEO and co-founder of Riot Games.

The discussions will relate to concepts taught in the Unconventional Leadership class, such as methods of effective communication.

“The preparation has been very hands on as [Director of Student Affairs Jordan] Church has stepped back to allow this to really be a conference that we created ourselves,” Sophie Tippl ’17 said. “I’m looking forward to taking everything I’ve learned in the class this year and presenting it in a fun and interactive way, as well as introducing people to the class so they can take it next year.”

One of the activities to be offered at the convention is “Escape to Paradise,” in which participants will find ways to move across a room using only blocks to walk on.

Another activity is called the “Marshmallow Challenge,” in which teams will attempt to build structures that can support a marshmallow out of tape and raw spaghetti.

“The convention was successful last year, with about 80 kids showing up, so we expect it to go well,” Jordan Goldstein ’17 said. “Also, since a lot of the kids won’t know each other, we expect it to be a little awkward at first, but with all the activities and discussions, they’ll have a good time.”